


Bond

by pusa_is_me (kimpotato)



Category: One Piece
Genre: Friendship, Gen, Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates, Mugiwara no Ichimi | Straw Hat Pirates As Family
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-11-11
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:40:59
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 4
Words: 1,813
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26909038
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/kimpotato/pseuds/pusa_is_me
Summary: The Mugiwara captain and first mate have a bond like no other.
Relationships: Monkey D. Luffy & Roronoa Zoro, Monkey D. Luffy/Roronoa Zoro
Comments: 9
Kudos: 147





	1. Bond

**Author's Note:**

> An old series from an old site.
> 
> Written circa 2006-2014, revised 2020.

He may not say it aloud, but Zoro has more faith in Luffy than he ever cares to admit.

Sometimes he wonders why he follows an idiot for a captain, someone whose childish ways has gotten them into an unending supply of troubles and enemies. Luffy is loud, shallow, overly enthusiastic about _anything_ , and in more than one situation just plain stupid. He finds the weirdest enemies to fight, even weirder people for friends, and he possesses such optimism to be the Pirate King it sometimes drives the people around him mad.

Yet every time someone hurts a person he loves, the Mugiwara captain does not hesitate to teach that someone a lesson he will never forget. True to his nature, Luffy doesn’t just stand there and willingly watch one of his nakama suffer.

So Luffy defeated Arlong because he made Nami cry. He saved Alabasta from Crocodile because he knew how important that kingdom is for Vivi. And he will fight countless battles just to protect the people he cares about.

Zoro knew, instinctively, that Luffy will always, _always_ win in the end, because aside from his superhuman strength, his captain possesses a stubborn determination to succeed not just for himself but for those he believes in.

Zoro knows these are people who believe in Luffy, too.

Yet, despite all his vigor and abilities, Zoro knows that Luffy, too, feels tired and discouraged at times. He may possess a devil fruit’s power, but deep inside he is still human—a child, to be exact. And during those times when Luffy appears so down he could no longer smile as widely as he used to, that’s when the first mate does his first and most important job—to look out for the captain.

Zoro isn’t exactly the best listener, but Luffy rarely shares his insecurities with other people anyway. So Zoro would do the thing he does best—sit beside his captain and stay quiet, as Luffy looks out into the sea. They will sit there, until Luffy’s fears and doubts slowly vanish and he returns to his old, hyperactive self.

They exchange no word, but the bond between them is enough to reassure the captain that Zoro will always be there to watch his back.

Luffy should know he has nothing to fear.

As long as Zoro is there, Luffy will be able to lead the crew to the best of his abilities. His first mate has his back, ready to support him any time he needs it.


	2. First Mate Roronoa Zoro

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> What were fulfilled dreams if you couldn't share it with the people you cared for?

When Bartholomew Kuma offered to spare their lives in exchange for their captain’s head, every Mugiwara protested furiously against the imposing shichibukai. Yet no one was able to compete with Zoro’s rage, nor his resolve to fight the Devil Fruit user to protect Luffy’s life.

He knew it was foolish, even more foolish than fighting Mihawk back at the Baratie. At least then he was in excellent health (although that didn’t help him defeat the infamous swordsman at all). Now, not only was Zoro at the brink of exhaustion from fighting one of the CP9, he was also at the point of losing consciousness for standing up against Gecko Moria.

But of course, being an idiotic marimo, he simply _didn’t_ care.

Though the deal he made with Kuma was obviously suicidal, Zoro didn’t even think twice about it. Willingly, he absorbed all the pain that Luffy should have gotten himself.

He knew he’d probably never do it for anyone else. But this was Monkey D. Luffy’s life that was at stake. And Roronoa Zoro, first mate of the Mugiwara pirates, vowed to make Luffy the Pirate King.

_(It was the same vow Portgas D. Ace made to his captain Whitebeard, but that’s another story.)_

Zoro wanted to be the greatest swordsman in the world. He wanted to keep his promise to Kuina, to have his name recognized everywhere, to be famous enough that his reputation would reach up to the heavens. But he was, first and foremost, a member of the Mugiwaras, the first mate. And first mates, Zoro learned quickly in the game, were supposed to protect the captain with their lives.

Especially if the captain was someone like Luffy.

Sure, Luffy was dumb and stupid half of the time, but he loved his crew to the best of his abilities. And he has faith in everyone, even during those times when it seemed like there was no hope left. Like all their battles would be lost. Like all their past efforts would go to waste.

And Zoro could never, ever forgive himself if he let Luffy die.

He already lost Kuina. Damn it all if he had to lose another friend. What were fulfilled dreams if you couldn’t share them with the people you cared for? He’d rather die than see that day come.

So he stood there until the end, taking in all the pain intended for his captain. And as a last shiver coursed through his broken body, Zoro whispered the most silent of prayers to a god he didn’t even believe in:

_Keep him safe. Let him reach his dream. Kami, let him be the Pirate King._


	3. Rashomon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> There was little one could do when he was required to spend day after day with the most honest, loyal, idiotic pirate East Blue has ever produced.

Trust doesn’t come easy for Zoro.

It comes with the territory—he is, after all, an ex-pirate hunter, and one of the golden rules in pirate hunting is that you never _ever_ let your guard down, no matter the situation. Trust can lead to failure, or worse, death.

Joining the Mugiwara crew has taught him to trust in others, bit by bit. It was a long and winding road—the journey to complete reliance and dependence on other people—but there was little one could do when he was required to spend day after day with the most honest, loyal, _idiotic_ pirate East Blue has ever produced.

And so Zoro learned to trust Nami to navigate Going Merry properly—not that his biological compass is anything to be proud of.

He learned to trust Usopp to snipe his intended target from half a mile away—or even more.

He learned to trust Chopper to be beside him in a flash and tend to his wounds—even though Zoro insists that a good bottle of sake and a long nap are all he needs to recuperate.

Hell, he even learned to trust Sanji to whip up the perfect dish without trying to poison him—though he sometimes suspects that the cook might have thought about it once or twice.

And of course, Zoro learned to trust Luffy to defeat the opponents that even he could not beat.

And then Nico Robin came along.

And Zoro most definitely did _not_ trust her.

Listing down his reasons was too tedious a task, and Zoro wasn’t that bright to dwell on details anyway. If asked to sum it up, he’d come up with one simple explanation—Robin had come barging into their lives without permission.

So Zoro kept an eye on her—teaming up with her whenever possible, waiting for her to slip, especially after the incident with Aokiji. Because he was the first mate, _damn it_ , and he will not allow anyone, not even a new nakama, to hurt his captain.

But Luffy _trusts_ Robin.

So much, that he was unwilling to give her up, even when she had blatantly told Sanji and Chopper that she wanted nothing more to do with the crew, that she was merely using them to get what she wanted, that they were better off without her.

No, not even the obvious lie—for it was a lie, Zoro realized later on—stopped Luffy from hopping on the Rocket Man in an attempt to get their historian back.

It was then that Zoro _finally_ allowed himself to trust Robin as well.

When part of the Puffing Tom came rushing toward them—blocking their path to Enies Lobby and the selfless archeologist—the Mugiwara captain merely called out to his first mate.

“Hey Zoro!”

“Hm?”

“Cut it down! It’s in the way.”

And because Zoro knew that Luffy trusts him with the simplicity and genuineness of a five-year-old—that is, with his life and the life of everyone else aboard the Rocket Man—he answered the only answer he knew of.

“Sure.”

And cut it he did.


	4. Swords and Fists

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Fists and swords were sometimes the only way to settle differences.

Zoro was going to _kill_ him.

_(He hasn’t made good on that threat yet, no matter how many times he’d said it in the past, like when Luffy tossed him in the sky during their fight against the fishmen at Arlong Park. Zoro didn’t know if he’d ever make good on it, ever.)_

The idiot would not listen to reason—Luffy actually _attacked_ him over a misunderstanding.

_(They’ve had countless arguments before—the first one when Luffy invited him to be part of his crew.)_

Luffy gomu gomu no pistol’d him with the intent to kill, and had it not been for Zoro’s quick reflexes, his skull would’ve been smashed like the brick wall behind him.

 _(Luffy_ knew _Zoro has quick reflexes.)_

Zoro had done everyone a favor by defeating the Baroque Works bounty hunters who were after their heads.

_(Luffy’s, in particular.)_

And instead of thanking him, all he received for his troubles were blackmail from that witch and an unwarranted duel with his captain.

_(Zoro didn’t expect anything less from Nami, but it was pretty annoying to get attacked by a half-asleep, big-bellied rubberman. Luffy did him a favor, though, by beating up Mr. 5, because Zoro did not appreciate cutting up the snot of other people, explosive they might be or otherwise. It was even more disgusting than the time Luffy had tried to make him drink water with booger in it, back at the Baratie.)_

And so he decided that if Luffy was going to attack seriously, he would as well.

_(Because fists and swords were sometimes the only way to settle differences. He and Luffy were not much of conversationalists anyway.)_

It was the perfect time to test who was stronger, too.

_(Zoro didn’t care either way. His dreams did not contradict Luffy’s, and Luffy’s dream propelled them both in the same direction.)_

Steel clashed with rubber skin and bones, and slashes and slices met with punches and kicks. Both captain and first mate attacked with all they got, as seriously as they could, neither of them backing down.

_(It was not a mere fight between men—it was a clash between friends. It was a duel between nakama.)_

And in the end, if one of them managed to kill the other—if Luffy was able to crush Zoro’s skull with his fists, or if Zoro succeeded in stabbing Luffy in the heart—that would just prove that one was stronger than the other. That was just how far they could go.

 _(Zoro trusted that it would not come to that. It was a duel between_ nakama _, after all.)_

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I've used up all available chapters, so I'm not sure when (or if) I'll be able to update anytime soon. So I feel like this is a good time to thank everyone who has read this mini-series. Thank you! Here's to more One Piece stories!

**Author's Note:**

> This is how I procrastinate. By revising old fan fiction stories.
> 
> Visit [KP's Corner](https://twitter.com/thelittlebugi/) for more of my plot bunnies and drabbles.


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